EP 0 062 363 A1 describes a process and a plant for producing fuel gas and process heat from carbonaceous materials. In this process, coal or the like reacts with oxygen containing gases in the presence of steam in a fluidized bed reactor. The degasification is carried out at a pressure of up to 5 bar and at a temperature of 800° C. to 1100° C. To maximize the amounts of fuel and heat which can be obtained from this process, the parameters of the fluidized bed reactor are adjusted such that 40% to 80% of the carbon of the starting material is reacted in the fluidized bed reactor. A similar process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,583 and JP 2003105351.
Many metallurgical processes like the smelting reduction of iron ores in a smelt reduction vessel (HIsmelt-SRV) or the reduction of ilmenite in a rotary kiln require carbonaceous material such as coke breeze, char, anthracite or power station coal. However, the known processes in which a maximum amount of fuel and heat is produced are not appropriate to obtain enough char or the like for use in such metallurgical processes. Further, a low volatile content of the char is preferred as this leads to energy savings and to an increased production in the metallurgical processes.